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Sunday, January 31, 2010

31st Dec 1929, eighty years back, on the banks of river Ravi, the tricolor flag was unfurled with delight, fervor and vigor. The then annual session of congress also holds the importance of declaring “Poorna Swaraj”, or complete independence as only honorable goal. Amidst the rapture stood the firm resolve to face daunting struggle that was to follow the coming year. But the charm of the night must be something different. The flag that was endowed to the Indians brought with itself a colossal spirit and responsibility to provide deep reverence to this national symbol. The dignity of the flag was to be maintained at any cost and yes, every cost was paid to keep it. People from every age group were ready to be decimated, but the pride of the flag should remain unhurt. If the British tried to snatch away the flags from the feeble hands of children, in response they wore tricolor dresses to show the audacity.

The new year resolution at that time congress adopted was to set itself to organize meetings all over the country on 26th January, to read out the pledge for independence ( It was to commemorate this day, that India was declared a republic on the same day, 20 years later). The pledge was read out and the flag was hoisted. The opening text said: “We believe that it is the inalienable right of the Indian people, as of any other people, to have freedom and to enjoy the fruits of their toil and have the necessities of life, so that we may have full opportunities of growth. We believe also that if any government deprives a people of these rights or oppresses them, the people have a further right to alter or abolish it.” This pledge indeed is followed till now as well. Our preamble bestows sovereignty to the citizens. The most interpreted article 21 of our constitution, gives a right to life and liberty, the life with dignity, and liberty only checked by law.

Now stands a mighty 125 years old congress, governing India with a name of “United Progressive Alliance”. India recuperating slowly from the recession and leery in the policies, with huge fiscal deficit, expected to rise to 6.8%, still confused to withdraw the stimulus, seceding demands from states, corruption allegations in top judiciary, pocket burning inflation, right to education still on papers, people dying of hunger, soaring maternity death rate. No, this is not cynicism; these are the facts that send a chill down the spine of each and every youth of the nation. With prevaricated outcomes of the Copenhagen summit just adding to the jeremiad.

The people like then still stand by the leaders and are ready to help them to take the country out of the dire strait. Yes the task is formidable, but the youth is still energetic. The NREGA can be implemented without corruption, and the social audits like Bhilwara are not unwelcomed, if allowed. The leftist and the socialist ideas of Nehru and Bose still reside in the hearts of the people. Why not congress like then take a New Year resolution again to uproot poverty, and take a pledge again to not allow anyone to die of hunger in the country, a pledge to remove corruption, a pledge to justice. Why not take a pledge that the funds disbursed will percolate down the spongy bureaucracy and political system and reach the needy ones. People still believe in the democracy and appreciate the efforts of austerity, to bring transparency and the way government maintains the integrity and safety of the country and many such efforts to make India progressive. But why not bring back the charm of the night of 31st December 1929 back again, and take a resolution of the coming New Year to take responsibility to make India progressive at the grass root levels as well. With government taking firm resolve to reduce corruption and with people to aid, the time is not far that India will be free from shackles again, this time from hunger and poverty. The audacity is still intact; the struggle is still on…

I am born rich, I am born poorBut I am born to struggle.I am growing IndianI learn and learnI learn science, I learn religionI learn family, I learn relation.I learn reverence, I learn sanctity

I am teenager IndianI try to be independentI am impinged upon by my parents,Yet have my own personalityI go to school,Because that is what I know I have to doI prepare for medical or engineeringAnd some lucky one's get into arts or some other fieldI go to college.

I am a college going IndianI am from north, I am from southI am Hindu, I am MuslimBut I live in same hostelI learn againI learn friendship,I learn late night outings,And enjoy them the mostI learn group studies,And then decide never to do them againAnd then again call friends for group studyI learn last minute submissionsAnd feel its fun.I learn a "who cares" attitudeI feel that is coolI learn about girlsBefore that they were more of a type of speciesNow it becomes a special typeI learn religionAnd cricket is my topmost religionI learn to drink and drinkAnd then pukeI learn the word virginityAnd try to lose it as soon as possibleSome lose and some carry till their marriage and even beyondI am naïve and enjoy the sojournBut now I learn from lifeI learn from my experiences

I am just-college-passed corporate IndianI learn competitionI learn nothing is impossibleI learn to never give upI learn only to go aheadI learn what to carry and what to leave with timeThough I end up carrying most of the wrong onesBut that is how I learnI miss my college days the mostI miss all those days that I spent with my friendsI learn they can't be aroundAnd then plan when we can meet nextBut most of the time its gets postponedI am busyI am busy runningChasing a car like a dogWho doesn't know what he will do if he catches oneI learn to prioritize the thingsI learn to do things that I like

I am a dreamer IndianI see a dreamI learn to work on thatI learn problems, I learn hardshipsBut I always have those relationsAnd the friends and the old learningI learn to take responsibilityAnd try to bring a change to my countryMy dreams converge with the dreams of everyoneBecause we all work for each otherI dream a new IndiaIndia with no one dying of foodIndia with no one fighting with each otherIndia with all religions togetherAnd all the castes similar

I am a fighting IndianI fight to make things betterAnd when I see India growingI am a satisfied Indian

Everyday we wake up with a new dream, a new hope, a new inspiration, a new desire, and a new plan to implement those. But what we end up is quite different; it is very tough to find life with its arms wide open and embracing you with all what you want. We are never able to realize what is meant for us to do, and it would never come to us in an epiphany what the life is meant to be. We have to struggle hard to know the motive of our life, for what we are made, and what role God has assigned us in this stage of world. People in this world are too contagious, and you would be very easily infected by the ideas of other people but it is you only who has to find out the right aim and then jostle your way to reach the pinnacle. You have to search inside your potential and strengths and implement in the outside world. But the problem doesn’t end here itself because what awaits you outside is the Virtual Reality… “What it seems to be, it never is”. The juju spells the magic and you go into a virtual world, and with all its conjuring tricks it makes you feel whatever you want to but the reality lies far away. The world is full of people who would create a virtual world around you, give you all pleasures of life, take you to a Utopia, but one fine morning when all this breaks you will find the reality. We create a small world of our own and live it till we realize that this is not the reality. So where does the reality lie? It lies in a string somewhere in your body joining your heart and mind, just strike it once and all the virtuality will automatically break. “Serenity of mind and Sovereignty of soul” just believe in yourself and keep doing the things that give calmness to your mind. Don’t put other people on the driving seat, its you, its your life then why not ride it on your own. Growth stops where innovation ceases so find your talent and push it, the outcome will itself give a testament of your skills. Don’t see what people are saying about you, if you do so you will again go into a virtual world. But this real world is not as beautiful as the virtual one. The realities are always bitter and will remain so, but if you have a will to do something, something that hasn’t been done by anybody else, something that has a power to change, then you have bring out all your valor, passion, fervor and enter into the real world, a world where there are very few people, a world of solitude, a writhing world. We all have read Gandhi ji’s Talisman, it has all the power to change the status of our country, because it shows reality, so show your talismanic powers as well, bring the world to reality and shatter this Virtual Reality…

Work day, work nights, work throughout, and suddenly you realize that you haven’t done enough. Living on a hope for months, planning the things out and one day you feel that you cannot carry the whole load. All the dreams shattering in front of your eyes and you cannot do anything than to see them go. You know that you can do, but don’t have the stamina to hold the opposing winds. What to call this? Is this lack of spirit, loss of hopes or withering self confidence? Sometimes you feel that why are you doing this or not doing that, why are you living such life, do you really enjoy this, or you have to do this? But still you keep on going, doing things that you feel you like and avoiding the dislikes. The problem comes when you have to do what you never wanted to do, and then also you do that and try to find contentment in that, and to a great extent you achieve that. But what about the dreams that you thought of, or the aim you had. Where does that go? It resides somewhere in your heart and keeps on pinching you every day at least a hundred times, whenever you feel to keep yourself busy. You try to escape easiness in order to escape the reality. You indulge yourself into activities that could make you a satisfied person, but you cannot escape the veracity. You pass through various vicissitudes of life and keep on growing, but actually you are stagnant, because your dreams are still there where you left them. Dreams are easy to make, difficult to turn them into reality and impossible to forget them. Life is not about how much money you have made or how many relationships you have made; it’s about how many dreams have been fulfilled. Whatever you want is a part of your dream only, you keep on wishing and keep on working for, and keep on getting then you are satisfied. But sometimes in life you do not get all what you want, neverloose hope, never let your dreams go, they will surely hurt you some day, if you let them go without fighting, or giving up in middle of the battle. Hope, will and self confidence can make you achieve whatever you wish to. They will give you the power to withstand the atrocities. And one day when you are old enough to only think, you will realize that how much you have gained or rather earned in life. You will surely be able to count your defeats as wee, but that is how life goes on.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Entrepreneurship is a feeling, and you must feel that. The feel to have a company of yours, people working for you, loads of work on your head, meeting deadlines, shouting clients, all files around the table, every second a different phone call... WOW!!! I just love it, its an amazing feeling to be in that world. The world of entrepreneurs, the business world. It is a dream for me. For me its as passionate a feeling, as speed for a F1 driver, as goal for a soccer player, as love for Romeo and Juliet. I live it every moment...

I dream of being an Entrepreneur...

I dream of being an entrepreneur. And I work for that, maybe not full time but yes at least everyday sometime. But sometimes one gets a feeling that what is the right time to start, if I am ready to take the responsibility, if I have it in me, if I will be able to survive. Many question pop up into your mind and in an attempt to solve those, we end up in collecting a few more for the next time thoughts. I tried a few things, had a venture during my college days, still having some ideas and struggling with them. I have my friends who also started their ventures, some are doing good, some are struggling and some gave up. I tried to find out the answers with them and with myself and I think I found some of them.

I feel the following three are the primary one, if they are answered by you in any way, then there will be no more questions, the most important one is when to start, then comes how will I get money to start, and then how much will I earn through that.

What is the right time to start?

There is never a wrong time to start the right thing. If you feel that it is right time, then it is. I know, it sounds too literary. Lets think it practically now. You passed out of the college and you have no job, no means to earn. You are not a management graduate, you have no experience in the field of entrepreneurship , and you have not even sold a pen in your life. But you have your idea, you passion and your dream of being an entrepreneur, what you will do; I think you have no other option than to work for that. So why is it that if you have a job then you wait for the right time to come. Trust me if you will wait for the right time, it will never come. I started working when I was in college, because I felt that this is the right time. Yes, you may have some short term goals, maybe to collect some amount of money , but as soon as you reach that don't wait more. Just dive into. Here there is a threshold, as soon as you overcome that threshold of having a right feeling to start, that's the right time.

Do I have money to support my Idea?

My concept for money has been, money is a fluid, and it flows. And it has a definite path, as hot air rises up, or air flows from high pressure to low pressure, or a particles tends to achieve the most stable state, the money flows from less brainy to more brainy. Its only matter of time sometimes it flows away from you, because there is someone smarter than you and sometimes it flows towards you, because you are smarter than others. Though I will suggest that don't go for Venture Capitalist in the beginning, if you think that you don't have money to actually start your business, start some supporting business, earn through that and then start your main business. Try hitting VC's only after you have established something. Say for example, you want to start a restaurant and don't have money , start doing delivery business, make some clients, then hit VC's it will be easier to get them then. Straightaway with a big budget, you go to VC, he is never gonna invest on a novice. Its purely practical and purely business. ( i have evaluated this on the basis of one of my friend's real time experience)

How much will I earn through my business?

Sincere advices, if you are starting for the sake of money, don't start.You are an entrepreneur, entrepreneurship is a feeling, and you must feel that. The feel to have a company of yours, people working for you, loads of work on your head, meeting deadlines, shouting clients, all files around the table, every second a different phone call. Ahhhhhhhh!!! That's entrepreneurship, the money will automatically come. Its completely secondary, if you are a good entrepreneur, you will have enough money, but if you will do everything money minded, you still can have a lot of money , but you will never be an entrepreneur. It is a feeling, start feeling it; your life will be not the same. Once you enter into this field, you will have a lot of options, its not necessary that the idea you started you have to stick with that, you can be flexible, and you will find a lot of opportunities. Because world is much bigger than Atlas. When we are not into the field we see it like a map on atlas, we cannot measure it volumetric, we can measure it, when we enter it.

So carry on with your ideas, break all the boundaries, get the feeling of entrepreneurship and just start off. The important thing is feeling. That is the only threshold in entrepreneurship. Just be as passionate as you can.

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Who am I?

People call me Chirayu.
I find myself everyday and everyday I am someone different. I try to give shape to my imaginations every moment. I dream, i dream a lot, and work for them, because dreams do come true.
Few words by Tantia Tope always inspire me: "Its better to live a day like a Lion than a lifetime like a sheep"
Also,
I am a B.Tech graduate from IIT Roorkee, India. Now into field of Nuclear Science. It's Physics that brings peace in my life and takes me closer to spirituality...